Thanksgiving is done, now back to School!

It was a good week having the girls home for Thanksgiving holiday. We saw my Grandparents in Eastman, Ga, as well as my Nannie in Columbus, Ga. We were busy with therapy, playdates, and eating LOTS of yummy fried turkey! My brother, Allen can sure fry a turkey! We went to a Christmas tree farm and cut down a tree, however, the decorating is taking some time. For some reason, I can't seem to get my act together to decorate the tree. Well, it will happen sooner or later. Skylar won't let me off the hook on that one. She is already harrassing me about the ornaments... I haven't even gotten the lights on yet!! :)

I took Kyara to a dermatologist a week ago to get her neck looked at. The doctor prescribed an antifugal cream with a steriod in it. This has really made a huge difference in her neck. It looks great when she is calm. When she gets mad, it flares up like a tomato. I am not sure what to think about that yet, maybe it is like how some people's faces turn red when they are made. The redness has been going away after she calms back down, so I hope it is nothing to worry about.

Kyara and Skylar went back to school this morning. Skylar couldn't wait. She is joining the REACH program at school, and today was the first day. I loved the excitement in her voice when she told me about her day today. Usually I get the, "I don't know," answer to all of my questions, but today she couldn't wait to tell me about what she learned. I LOVE IT!

We are working on "unplugging" Kassey from the pacifier. (My mom, Bunny, always calls the pacifier a plug, I guess the name sorta fits). This has caused some long sleepless nights at our house. Thank goodness Skylar is a heavy sleeper, because she shares a room with Kassey and Miss Kassey has NOT been happy about being unplugged.

So, back to Kyara. She is stable. I wish I could say that her crying has stopped, but I cannot. She still cries whenever she is not sitting with one of us. Skylar has been such a big help; she will sit with Kyara while I make dinner or while I am changing Kassey (who, by the way, THINKS she wants to be potty-trained, but refuses to actually GO on the potty. She just likes to sit and read books on it...all day long).

We don't have any doctor visits planned until after Christmas, so we will just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and be thankful for each day that we have together.

Happy Baptism Day!!

Kassey had fun with some paint in the kitchen!!!

Kyara riding backwards on the horse at Corrall.

Thanksgiving Feast at Skylar's school. Kassey LOVED the food! Thanks Willis Road for a yummy lunch! You did a great job!

On our walk during this beautiful Sunday afternoon!

Skylar is growing up so quickly! Can you see, NO FRONT TEETH!! How is the girl suppose to eat?!?

After church. Everyone was smiling in another shot, but I cut off the tops of our heads. You can only see from our noses down. I figured that would not do...so, at least our whole heads are in this one!

***One of these days I am going to figure out how to arrange the pictures in with the text so that the pictures illustrate what I am writing about, instead of being a the beginning of the post! ***

What a wonderful day we had today. It started out meeting my family at Waffle House for breakfast before church. Gunars' mom, Luz Estela joined me and Gunars, all the girls, and the whole Leonard clan. To count heads, that was...17 in all. We literally TOOK OVER one side of the Waffle House! Then off to church we went. It was a special day indeed, because not only did Skylar, Kyara, and Kassey get baptized, but so did I. It was very special to have my family there today. The baptism was held in the same chapel that Gunars and I got married, so even the location was special to me. The girls did great, Kassey even said "Bye!" and blew the congregation a kiss when we were done. What a sweetheart!

The weather outside was gorgeous was after a yummy lunch at Gunars' dad's house, we went to Peachtree City (PTC) for a walk on the golfcart paths. (For those unfamiliar with PTC, there are hundreds of miles of golfcart paths all over the city. Many of the residents own golfcarts and use them to get around town instead of cars.) The leaves are changing and walking through the woods on the paths was fantastic. I really enjoy the peacefulness that comes from the walks. After the walk, we headed out for icecream, even though by this time it was about time for dinner. Nothing like dessert first!! It is the most important part of the meal as far as I am concerned.

We then headed for home, where after dinner, Gunars and Skylar competed on the Wii, Kyara enjoyed being in the middle of the them, and Kassey watch to get pointers for when it is her turn to play. A little reading before bedtime, and then lots of hugs and kisses for the girls.

Why did I just write step by step how our day went? Really I could have just summed it up in a short sentence.... This was the most perfect day I have had since January 21, 2009. I could not have asked for a better day. Kyara was mostly calm today, which help the mood, again I really think she likes moving, so the walk was perfect for her! God is great!!

So how about the rest of the last two weeks?

We have been BUSY!! Kyara is doing better at school. At least, I think she is. I am not getting as many notes home saying she cried all day! :) She has also started to do some horseback riding with the school. A group of volunteers meet at a barn in the county called Corrall. They cater to children with disabilities and to my understanding the special education classes in the county have the opportunity to go to Corrall for a six week session. Because of Kyara's weight and inability to sit up, she has to ride on her stomach. She faces the horse's tail with her legs on either side of the horses back. The movement of the horse walking seems to really soothe her, so that has been great! The school bus has the same effect. I guess the vibration of the bus gives her enough feedback or stimulation to keep her happy. That's good because she is on it for quite a while in the mornings!

Skylar had a Thanksgiving lunch with parents on Thursday, so Kassey, Gunars, Bunny and I went. I like to see Skylar doing so well in school. Kassey loved getting to eat with Skylar. She felt like a big girl. She kept telling me the rest of the day, "Sissy, school." Yes, Kassey, Skylar is at school!

Skylar also has finished soccer for the season and just in time for basketball! So far, she is really liking the new sport!

Kassey in experimenting with paints. Thank goodness for washable paint!!!

Next week we will be going back up to the see the rehab doctors so Kyara can get Botox shots in her finger flexors (the ones that bend your fingers, by getting the shots we are hoping she will be able to relax her fingers better and open her hand more), bicep, and pectoralis (chest) muscles. I hope the shots will allow Kyara more range of motion.

Please keep Kyara in your thoughts and prayers.

Halloween

Halloween was cold and wet this year. Gunars and I dressed up along with the girls. In case you can't figure out what we are by the pictures, I'll explain. Gunars is a ninja, I am a vampire. Skylar is a skeleton bride, Kyara is Mary from Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Kassey is a bat girl. Kassey's outfit was suppose to be a 24 month size, but when we put it on her on Halloween night we realized I had bought a 12 month out fit. Needless to say, it doesn't fit. Oops! Gunars and Kyara stayed home and passed out candy to all the trick-or-treaters and Skylar, Kassey and I made our way through the neighborhood trick-or-treating. It was good fun.

Sunday was a hard day. It was All Saints' Day. In church we celebrated the lives of those whose passed away during the past year. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be on me. How close we were to having Kyara on that list. In some ways, for me, she kinda is on that list. The Kyara I have know and loved for the first 4 1/2 years of her life is gone. I mourn not having her with me everyday. Although her body is still here, she is not. She is not singing to me anymore. She is not laughing and playing anymore. She is not reading books to me, telling me about chlorophyll, or even really smiling and looking at me anymore. And as much as I want her back for me, I want her back for her, too. I want Kyara to have everything life has to offer!

November 1st is also the day we arrived in Michigan. November 3rd, today, was the day of her surgery. One year ago. At the time, I know we made the best decision we could for Kyara. We really believed that this surgery would provide her a better life. Boy were we wrong. I wish we could go back and not do the surgery at all. Put life back the way it was. But... we can't. All we can do is move on with our lives, provide the best home we can for the girls.... full of love and support for each other.

On a different note, Skylar has been complaining about her leg hurting for a couple of weeks now, so I took her to the doctor yesterday to get it looked at. They did x-rays and everything looks fine, Thank God! She has been instructed to restrict activity for the next week. So, no karate, soccer, basketball, or PE for her for a week and then we will see how she feels.

I know this has not been a very uplifting blog. As we move away from this date, I pray God will give me the strength to find joy in each day, through Gunars, Skylar, Kassey and of course, through Kyara.